MIKE MENTZER: “HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU TRAIN?”  

Truly ahead of his time..

I also started with every 3 days. But I had to change to every forth or even fifth day now (especially on leg day or chest/back day) You really should give your body time to heal and build. If you are so eager to workout on your resting days, do low intensity cardio

I would say 3 days rest applies to beginners!More advanced trainees need 4 to 5 days rest!

This CONCEPT is similar to when you break your arm , knuckles , or maybe hair line fracture a bone , after the initial healing process from my experience the previously injured Area become stronger the bone where it was fractured is twice as hard and strong as before with extra bone growth, even tendons and ligaments will get stronger. Very similar at least in my mind it makes perfect sense. I just Finished a heavy Chest and back day yesterday and this Video answered the question I was pondering in my brain. Thanks Mike. I have always said the hardest part about working out wether it's MMA , boxing or Lifting, hardest part is Taking time off and not over train then food.

Tried Mike's ideal routine a couple times but always stagnated after a month or so. Trying again with AT LEAST 5 days between workouts and making gains again. Never thought I would need that much rest but it's working.

God bless Mike to tell us all of this that he did and then left us. Now Mike is enjoying his infinity life on heaven and watching what we do here 😊 what a legend 😮

Mike Mentzer furthered this pioneering and correct method of training by Arthur Jones. They both greatly benefitted from each other's relationship.

Mike mentzer ❤

Am going to try this training every 3 days. This man was way ahead of his time.

King 💪🏼👑

Definitely the case the longer I’ve been on Heavy Duty.

Mike's principals have helped me add weight to my lifts. I thought more rest would be bad. I actually got stronger training less but more intense. Used to do the token 3 or 5 day split. Had more elbow problems with all the sets and needed to save myself to finish the workout. Now I do multiple warm up sets then an intense, to failure set. I do it exactly as the program says take 72 or more hours off between workouts. Unbelievable. Why dont more people advocate this training style?

I’m 30years old. I am a powerlifter/bodybuilder. Steroids are for 🐱. I train all natural. My lifts are generally: Monday: Leg Day (Max 550lb squat) Wednesday: Chest Day (405lb Bench) Friday: Back Day: Deadlifts (600lbs) Mike Mentzer was a genius. He really knew how to maximize natty gains. And he laid down the foundations of science with weightlifting. Goat.

This video really highlights the core of Mike's brilliance. Critics of the longer rest periods point to their idols who trained 4-6 days per week with successful results...not for a moment realizing that steroids - which are "recovery enhancers" - were the reason they could overtrain and still make gains. If you train the way Mike suggests and you don't take steroids, you must take extended rest periods, or your gains will be minimal or non-existent.

great knowledge

I’ve just took three weeks off, and guess what I came back stronger..😁

We're all doing Heavy Duty!!

I trained my chest and triceps with heigh intensity programm and today is the second day of rest I want to train today but i decide to take another rest day and grow ❤

Im a 43 year old male, i just started working again after many years of not going to th gym, my aim is to get stronger, I'm slim, about 5ft 8 can i get some beginners advice 😅

Legend❤

I may or may not get grief for aspects of this comment but "here goes"...I trained for 2 years...Mon/Wed/Fri...vegetarian diet for 8 years...40 minute maximum workout...I was stronger at 5'5 than most boys in the gym...no coaching (I am a coach - check my videos)...and was in the 2nd best shape of my life of physically (in the best shape now as a whole unit [mind/body/spirit]). Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones and finally Bruce Lee are the only 3 men you need to truly learn how to express your body/mind/spirit...anything else is watered down nonsense.

So true just compensation can take up to 5 days with me and allow 2 days or more for overcompensation

I been exercise since grade school started lifting weights at 13 years old I’m 51 now only workout twice and do cardio once a week just to stay in shape

What would Mike say about the proliferation of cellular phone usage in the gymnasium and camping out in an "occupy apparatus" fashion? All in good fun, bt Mentzer made a lasting impact on many people

If you smashing 100 to 200 g of sugar water after a workout, you will recover so much faster and avoid domes and be able to shorten the distance between workouts, but it is also important to not cut it too short as you do want to maximise the muscle growth period, Carbs FTW!! 💪💪💪

Very good but short video. I would have to add that this advice is contingent upon the fact people even train hard enough to warrant enough rest. I did have another question if you wouldn't mind. John, what was Mike's advice for people who were skinny? Namely people who had been in the gym for years, but still looked like they had never stepped foot in the gym or looked like marathon runners? Usually the advice is to focus on getting stronger with a heavy focus on pounding food namely protein. But Mike did not take kindly to bulking or high protein diets so I'm curious to know what were his suggestions.

Recover and growth are two separate processes requiring their own timeframes. So if I understand Mike properly even if you are recovered you need to leave your body alone for a couple of days to let it grow..?

Hey John, I watched a small documentary of Mike by the youtube channel The Iron Historian. He mentioned that apart from Ray, Mike had an older brother and a sister. I have never ever heard or read anything about them. I knew that Ray had a daughter, who even commented on one of your Ray videos, but did Mike and Ray have siblings?

I like Dorian Yates analogy of rubbing the palm of your hand with sandpaper: if you allow proper time, callus will form and skin will be tougher. But if you don't allow proper time and continously rub, you'll just have a sore hand.

Did Mike ever say anything about decreasing your calorie deficit as you become leaner? For example, if you are someone who has been on a diet for a while and you are relatively lean, should you try to lose weight slower?

Hardly at all , and when you do its for like 30 minutes. His system works - but you hardly get to train :(

I was walking a mile or so everyday and lifting 6 days a week.now ive been doing the HIT for about a month.can or should i still do the walk every day. I am 6'2" and 370lbs.i am wanting to drop 100lbs without losing my great muscle build up ive got.

I have no wish to question what has been said. However, the more times you complete the stimulus, recovery, growth process the faster will be the rate of progress. Therefore, going back to the roots of Heavy Duty, train with sufficient intensity, minimising the inroad into recovery by restricting duration of training. The body clock typically works on a 24,2 hour cycle Anticipate strength increases shortly after that time, and adjust intensity by using rest pauses for instance as necessary, but not instantly going to the extreme of maximum lifts. Waiting longer between sessions is futile unless growth has been stimulated with minimum inroad to recovery

2 days rest best 3 if needed

how is it that back in the old days railroad workers, heavy factory workers etc. were working full time with few day(s) off yet managed to get really fit big muscles large shoulders etc. if rest days are so crucial to building muscles

Monday: Leg Day (4 sets to failure per lift; at least 15 reps. Tuesday: active rest day (Eight 30 sec sprints with 90 sec rest between runs) Wednesday: Push Day (shoulders, chest, tri’s). 4 sets to failure per lift; at least 15 reps Thursday: active rest day (Eight 30 sec sprints with 90 sec rest between runs + 5 sets of jump/tuck squats for 1min with 1min rest between jumps (body weight only) Friday: Pull day (traps, bi’s, lats/back). 4 sets to failure per lift; at least 15 reps Saturday: active rest day (Eight 30 sec sprints with 90 sec rest between runs + 5 sets of jump/tuck squats for 1min with 1min rest between jumps (body weight only) Sunday: Talk to God & Enjoy the Sabbath 🥱🛏️😴💤🛌

Ya gotta laugh! I've given this advice to friends who have observed me training and they think I'm a genius,l tell them I lazy so I train only once every 7 days per body part.

I train naturally ..HIt...is brilliant for the steroid free trainer

so is it okay to work out twice per day and then 72 hours do again?